Happy Pi Day: Eat a piece of pie to celebrate mathematics on 3/14

If you ever need some fairly solid proof that the universe is a strange place, you really don't need to go much further than the π (or pi) key on your calculator. We take this particular mathematical constant for granted on a regular basis, but today, March 14 (or 3/14), is the day we really celebrate its beauty and wonder.

If you tap the π key on a typical calculator, the value that gets spit out is probably 3.14159265, although depending on the calculator it may go on for a few more (or maybe even a lot more) decimal places. As strange as it might seem, though, no matter how many digits your calculator gives you, it would never give you π's exact value. In fact, if you sat down and wrote out all the decimal places of π, you'd be sitting there for a long time... an infinite amount of time, to be exact, because as far as we know (and we've apparently calculated it to around ten trillion digits so far) it never ends.

[ Related: Happy Pi Day! Fun facts about our favorite irrational number ]

What is π, and why is it so important that we've spent so much time trying to calculate it?

π is what you get if you divide a circle's circumference by its diameter. That means that if you had a disk that was exactly 1 metre wide, that disk would be π metres around. Think about that. With such a circle, you could take a tape measure and go around the edge, and you would measure roughly 3.14 metres, or maybe 3.1415 if you had a really good tape measure with a magnifying glass to view the last digit, but you'd never actually get the exact value.

With so much of the universe depending on circles (or ellipses) — from the subatomic up through sound waves and electromagnetic waves to the shapes and orbits of planets, moons, stars, galaxies, etc. — you'd think that it would be easy to lock down the exact value of this constant, but it's not.

It's important too, because without it, figuring out what's going on in the universe around us would be incredibly frustrating, and exploring that universe with satellites, as well as robot probes and rovers, would be impossible.

This animated video, by Reynaldo Lopes and Igor Coric, is a great little lesson on the infinite life of π.

[ More Geekquinox: Rare mineral fragment points scientists to vast 'oceans' of water deep inside the Earth ]

So, how do you celebrate an infinite, irrational mathematical constant? Most opt for the most obvious way ... by eating pie. Pizza pie, apple pie, pecan pie, chocolate pie ... whatever you like best (as long as it's round). Also, while you're eating that pie, just take a few moments to contemplate all that π does for us now, and exactly what it could ultimately reveal about the universe (should we actually figure it out).

Also, the whole day today is dedicated to π, but are always two times of the day that are extra special. The first has gone by for most people already, unfortunately, as 3:23:53 a.m. this morning (either UTC or whichever time zone you live in) is exactly 0.1415926 of the day, but the more generally accepted time is at 1:59:26 p.m.

Happy Pi Day, everyone!

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Geek out with the latest in science and weather.
Follow @ygeekquinox on Twitter!